Under the Moon
by theybecameanimagi
Summary: '"I was trying to perfect a blitzball move that Sir Jecht taught me when I was a little girl." Yuna said, blushing. Tidus, meanwhile, tried to avoid wincing at the mention of his old man. "I was hoping I could surprise you." She glanced away from him. "I thought it might… remind you of Zanarkand."' Takes place on the boat after Kilica. T/Y


Tidus was unable to sleep when he came out on the ship's deck that night. He'd had another nightmare about Jecht,. "Useless boy," Jecht-in-the-dream had said, "you'll never be as good of a player as I am." Tidus shuddered.

"You're wrong," He mumbled. "Wrong, Jecht, do you hear me?"

Tidus took a deep breath. Hopefully, some fresh air would allow him to relax—maybe he could even go to bed and have some dreams about something more pleasant. Maybe he would dream about Yu-

Tidus had only just stepped out on the deck when he heard the sound of a crash nearby. Someone was about to fall overboard! Tidus quickly rushed towards the sound, which was coming from the front of the boat. However, the sight that greeted him was not someone about to fall overboard, but Yuna lying flat her back on the deck, facing the night sky. From the way her arms were spread at her sides, she appeared to have fallen.

Tidus quickly rushed over to her and offered her a hand, which she accepted.

"Are you okay?" Tidus asked her. "I thought that bang was someone falling overboard." He stared at the ground a little in the last part. What if Yuna thought he was stupid for thinking that?

Yuna blushed as she stepped away from Tidus and clasped her hands. "I am so so sorry!" She looked away from him. "I was just… Working on something."

"On the ground…?" Tidus really didn't see where this was going.

"I told you that I wanted my journey to be full of laughter," Yuna said. Tidus couldn't see where this was going. "I was trying to perfect a blitzball move that Sir Jecht taught me when I was a little girl." She blushed. Tidus, meanwhile, tried to avoid wincing at the mention of his old man. "I was hoping I could surprise you." She glanced away from him. "I thought it might… remind you of home."

Yuna would think to do something that nice for him? Far out!

Yuna had been practicing blitzball? Tidus strained his eyes across the dark deck until his eyes landed on the ball's outline, where it was lying next to a pile of rope that some sailor must have left out. He jogged over to get the ball, and held out the ball to Yuna.

"Maybe you can show me what you were doing wrong?" Tidus asked. "And I could show you how to fix it."

Yuna took the blitzball and smiled up at Tidus. "Okay."

She strode over to the other end of the deck. She placed the ball out on the ground, and kicked. It rolled a few feet, but it wasn't very impressive either. Tidus knew what the problem was right away. He walked over to Yuna.

"I know what the problem is," Tidus said. "You have to keep your arms out for balance, you can't keep them all clamped up to your sides."

Yuna stretched out her arms, if anything holding them a bit too high. It wasn't right for blitzball, but Tidus still felt memorized. Seeing her standing out there under the starry night sky, with the white light of the moon shinning down on her like that, made him think of that powerful posture she stood in when she would summon aeons.

The moonlight seemed to turn her hair a more whitish brown, and her blue-and-green eyes seemed to glow with the moon's reflection in them.

She was mesmerizing.

Yuna frowned at him.

"You're staring at me, am I doing something wrong?" She squinted her eyes in a troubled gaze.

"Uh, kinda," Tidus said, not wanting to admit he'd sort of gotten distracted and had been checking her out. He scratched the back of his head. "You're holding you're arms out a bit to high."

Yuna's shoulders slumped. "Could you maybe move my arms in the right position, so I could try it again?"

Tidus walked over and stood behind Yuna. He gently grabbed each of her hands and made sure they were about a foot away from her hips. Standing this close to her, his heart was beating way to fast. Her arms warmed his against the chilly night air, and all Tidus could think about was how perfect they felt there. Her hair was like silk against his cheek.

Did he dare say something about how he was feeling? Surely she felt it too? Felt how perfect they felt together? It was hard to explain, but when he was around Yuna, he felt… At home. She helped lessen the ache of missing Zanarand.

"Yuna…" It was odd. Normally, when a girl was cheering him on in blitzball, he knew exactly what to say, but out here with Yuna, he had no words. "Don't go getting any ideas, ya?" Wakka had said, but now that the moment was here…

He didn't know what to say or do. For the first time in his life, Tidus, the leader, the star player of the Zanarkand Abes wasn't sure what he should be doing. Yuna had him paralyzed. How could he form any kind of words that would express how he felt about her?

Yuna stepped away from him. Her cheeks were flushed. "This was fun, but I have to get to bed." She sped away. Tidus frowned. It wasn't like Yuna to be rude, let alone brush someone off that quickly. He started after her, and as he did, he heard a sob.

She had looked as flushed as he'd felt when they'd broke apart… he was right, she had felt it too! So why did the idea of something between them scare her so much? Did she find the idea of them being together that awful? As she disappeared to the cabins below, Tidus heard another sob. Tidus followed her down the stairs just in time to see her closing the door to her cabin, a tear rolling down her face.

"Yuna!" He called, as he sprinted towards her cabin. He knocked on the door.

She didn't answer. He knocked again. Nothing.

He sighed. If she wouldn't let him in, then there was nothing he could do—at least, not tonight. He headed towards his room. He had thought he'd known loneliness during that time when he'd been dumped at that Al Bhed temple after Sin had destroyed Zanarkand, but he'd been wrong.

This loneliness was ten times worse. It was having someone, and having them push you away.


End file.
